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pipeline safety

We've spent more than 65 years growing our network of reliable energy infrastructure across North America – and our commitment to safe operations knows no borders.

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We've spent more than 65 years growing our network of reliable energy infrastructure across North America – and our commitment to safe operations knows no borders.

Being prepared for the rare cases when something does go wrong with our pipelines or power generation facilities is part of that commitment. In 2016, we conducted 117 emergency drills and exercises across our network.

At TransCanada, the safety and the integrity of our pipelines is at the heart of everything we do. Before we put a pipeline into service, we inspect and perform nondestructive testing of every weld, every pipe joint, every valve and every fitting to make sure it is installed properly and ready to go into service. Our construction quality management is designed to ensure that we detect and repair any defects in materials and workmanship, and that any repairs are completely tested before any oil or gas flows through the pipeline.

As North America’s leading oil and gas pipeline companies, TransCanada and Enbridge agree that improving the safety and reliability of pipelines is in everyone’s best interest. That’s why both companies have affirmed their ongoing commitment to safe operations by signing a Joint Industry Partnership agreement to conduct groundbreaking research in the area of leak detection.

It’s a potential game changer, it’s the first of its kind, and it’s got versatility to spare.

But it is by no means top secret.

The much-anticipated Large Scale Test Apparatus (LSTA), a breakthrough in the area of pipeline leak detection testing strategies, was unveiled on Sept. 11 in Edmonton by Enbridge’s Pipeline Control Systems and Leak Detection (PCSLD) team, in tandem with project research partner C-FER Technologies.

A recent headline the news suggested TransCanada may not be employing the latest, proven technologies available in the construction and operation of our new oil pipelines, Keystone XL and the Gulf Coast Pipeline. This is certainly not the case.

All technologies that can enhance the safety of our pipelines are given thorough consideration and certain technologies – such as infrared and fiber optic cable systems – may not be feasible to adopt at a particular point in time because they have not been fully proven in a broad operating application such as Keystone.

Learn more about why TransCanada is digging up and inspecting new pipeline in Texas and Oklahoma

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When TransCanada asserts that Keystone XL and the Gulf Coast Pipeline will be the safest pipelines ever built, we are not simply tossing out a convenient slogan.

From the selection and testing of the steel at the pipe mill to the ongoing testing and inspection of the pipe during and after construction and then over the life of the pipeline, TransCanada’s care and scrutiny is designed to make sure the pipeline performs as promised. Our commitment to customers, public safety and the environment demands nothing less.

TransCanada President and CEO Russ Girling joined his counterparts from Canada’s five largest pipeline companies on June 5 to discuss the role of leadership in enhancing the industry’s safety record. The CEOs were participating in the National Energy Board’s annual forum on safety in the energy industry.